Corratec Life S

Description

The Corratec Life S is one of those bikes that perfectly fits a very large customer desire that most of the bike industry failed to even see – an electric bike that was as easy to ride for new and returning bike riders – which is a huge part of our clientele here at EBT.

It’s got a low step through to make it easy to get on, a low centre of gravity to make the weight easy to manage, internal hub gears that are easy to shift, the Bosch Active Line Plus system with a torque sensor that is smooth and intuitive, and best of all – customised geometry to allow you to pedal comfortably and have both feet flat on the ground when you pull up, whether you are shorter or taller! It was especially refreshing to see this model with high quality components from the Bosch motor and 500Wh battery capacity to the Shimano brakes and gears.

When Ryan from Switched on Bikes in Wellington (the importer) brought it in for a test ride, we immediately ordered one.

You can also read Electric Barry’s Corratec Life S review. Barry has done a video on the Corratec too:

The importer’s description

Remarkably easy, comfortable, super-styler, mega reliable and unashamedly unconventional, The Corratec LifeS is a fresh town eBike radically suitable for the new world of mainstream eBike mobility.

This bike’s unique and clever design, in addition to looking super cool and distinctive, makes it easier to ride well, especially for the less hardcore cyclist, that is to say, for the rest of us! The key feature is being able to put your feet flat on the ground easily, while still having the seat high enough to make pedaling the easiest and least tiring. On most bikes, most riders don’t want to put the seat this high because it means you need to step off the seat in order to reach the ground with your feet. But is that the way that it needs to be?! The LifeS boldly claims: this is unnecessary!

Super Solid Build

To make it even better, Corratec has built this bike solid: strong, very low maintenance, and reassuringly sturdy to ride. High volume 3 inch wide tires provide enormous traction and effectively act as suspension, cushioning bumps, and creating a more forgiving rider environment. Wide handlebars also help make the bike very stable, and did we mention the height is adjustable? 😉

An internally geared hub means less maintenance

Another great aspect is reliability. We think you should be able to get an ebike which just goes, like a good car. The LifeS is good news if you’re worried about maintenance on your ebike. Traditional gears and brakes require regular adjustment in order to keep them going well. The LifeS features an internally-geared hub, a less common gear system famous for requiring next to no maintenance, which also conveniently lets you change gears while stationary. Hydraulic disk brakes like these also self-adjust and require only very sporadic services or pad changes and are more powerful than most brakes (though unlike the gear hub, these are a feature you will find on most ebikes in this price range). You will still need to put some air in the tires from time to time, but high-volume tires like these tend to need inflation less regularly than ordinary tires, and thanks to their high quality, they won’t puncture easily.

The Corratec features high quality Bosch drive system 

The electrics, as well, are extremely well built. The BOSCH drive system is arguably the highest quality ebike system available and has proven it’s exceptional reliability to us over the years. It has the same reassuring solid, quiet and powerful feeling that you’d expect from a German car and the same robust engineering you’d expect from any BOSCH product. This comes with the largest of the batteries available for that system, the 500 wh, which could deliver over 100 km range in perfect conditions, and in the most challenging of conditions such as we have here in New Zealand, will reliably deliver no less than 40 km.

We think the LifeS is a really forward thinking and useful contribution to ebike design, and we may see imitators following soon. If you want a super cool ebike with car-like ease and reliability, consider the LifeS.

SPECS

SIZES: One size fits (almost) all

COLOURS: Black/Red, Black/Green, White/Green

FRAME: Corratec LifeS

BRAKES: Shimano Disc Brake MT200 front, Shimano Disc Brake MT200 rear

STEM: Ergotec Vorbau Cobra

HANDLEBAR: Ergotec Bagel EWG

SADDLE: Corratec Trekking Saddle

SEAT POST: ZZYZX Twin Bolt

CHAINWHEEL: ZZYZX E-Power Crank

CASSETTE: Shimano Nexus 8

SHIFT LEVERS: Shimano NEXUS Revo Shifter

RIM: ZZYZX Trekking

TIRES: Innova 20 x 30

CHAINWHEEL RATIO: 1s; 42T

CASSETTE RATIO: 8s; 18

BRAKE DISC: 180 mm front, 160 mm rear

ENGINE: BOSCH Active Line Plus

BATTERY: BOSCH PowerPack 500 Performance

LIGHTS: AXA Compact Line 35 front, AXA Blueline-E rear